Movies often utilize amnesia as storytelling devices. The villains of “Captain Marvel” erase the heroine’s (Brie Larson) memory in an effort to suppress her humanity, which ultimately proves futile. In the “Fast and Furious” franchise, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) forgets her past, forcing the team to save and remind her. Although recovering the experiences trapped in their subconscious proves essential to unlocking their identities, mostly positive, heartwarming ones fill those gaps.

But what if the missing memories are dark and traumatic? Do their friends and family have a moral obligation to tell the amnesiac everything no matter the emotional cost?

At the center of “Tell Me Who I Am” lies this ethical quandary. From Ed Perkins — the documentarian of the recently Oscar-nominated short “Black Sheep” — the latest Netflix documentary recounts one brother’s decision to withhold details of a tragic past from his twin. Despite imperfect filmmaking, the feature serves as an effective exploration of memory and trauma, introducing novel discussions on the topic.

The plot setup occurs rather quickly, told through a mixture of retrospective interviews with its subjects and evocative, representative recreations — similar to last year’s “Three Identical Strangers.” Modern-day Alex and Marcus Lewis explain how Alex awoke from a motorcycle accident without any recollection of who he was or what transpired. The only thing Alex knew for certain was that Marcus was his twin brother and that he could trust Marcus.

As scary as the circumstances appear, the retelling initially presents their approach to rebuilding Alex’s life as an almost cute, comical sitcom. For example, Marcus provides backgrounds and descriptions before Alex meets his friends for another first time.

Yet the levity of the situation belies what hides in the subconscious. Upon the death of their mother, Alex develops suspicions that Marcus is withholding facts about her. At risk of spoilers, suffice it to say that the omitted details pertain to very intense abuse and trauma.

Documentarian Ed Perkins’ role in the narrative could be construed as exploitative. After all, the documentary presents an aura of mystery and suspense around real, actual tragedies that occurred in these twins’ lives.

The work always manages to remain ethical and thoughtful, however. Perkins never explicitly voices his own opinion, but rather allows the twins a forum to address some of the demons between each other and within each brother individually. Here, the documentary finds its greatest power and resonance.

But, as far as movies or documentaries go, “Tell Me Who I Am” cannot outshake some of its inherent limitations. For one, a natural under-abundance of home videos and photos restricts Perkins’ representations. Thus, the movie becomes reliant upon interviews with only two subjects, proving to be a hindrance of perspective and storytelling. Without other voices, viewers’ interest can be dictated by how compelling one finds the brothers as orators. Moreover, one of Perkins’ only directorial decisions on display is a grey, somber color-grading. Although he intends the imagery to mirror the subject matter, the

decision places the film outside a relatable frame of reality, increasing emotional distance between viewers and subjects.

In spite of these shortcomings, “Tell Me Who I Am” proves pretty effective and novel. It questions the ethicality and morality of Marcus’ omissions, presenting unique perspectives on trauma and memory. And although the lost memories are not as characteristically positive as other representations of amnesia in cinema and popular culture, sometimes it is important to reflect and consider how less than savory experiences can shape lives and psyches. Perkins’ first feature documentary affords viewers an opportunity to do just that.

Rising star Beabadoobee proves that her obnoxiously long name is worth knowing with her EP release, “Space Cadet.” In roughly twenty minutes, this record takes the listener back to a time when Avril Lavigne and hair dye were top priorities. This EP is a combination of teenage angst, brewed with a voice that sings from a place that is beyond its years. She sounds like the girl that performs at the high school talent show that everyone knows is good enough to get signed and does. 

“Space Cadet” begins with garage alternative rock tune “Are You Sure.” Beabadoobee juxtaposes her angelic voice with a heavy guitar backdrop. The lyrics are simple and repetitive, making this song lean more towards pop, but not quite enough so to crack the ranks of Top 40 radio. 

Standout track “I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus” is an ode to the lead singer from band Pavement. Lyrics like, “Got new hair, a new phase / I’m from outer space” are also on the elementary side, but they convey the experiences of being a teenager. The title of the song is self-explanatory as to what the song is about and provides an overall chill environment. It speaks of growth and reflecting on one–s past self. 

The next song off the EP, “Sun More Often,” puts the vocals in the forefront, allowing her tone to really shine through. The soft-spoken, almost baby-talk makes her almost seem younger than her age, which is nineteen. Although her vocals and delivery are unique, the music backing it seems derivative of the other songs on the EP.  

“She Plays Bass” is a quirky and fun tune that is another example of Beabadoobee’s ability to use uncomplicated lyrics to paint a perfect picture. The lyrics tell the story of the narrator’s jealousy for a girl that plays bass. This is virtually the only detail given about said girl, but it is enough. The words do a phenomenal job of creating a catchy hook and relating to listeners. 

The EP closes with its namesake track. This song, like “Sun More Often,” does not provide a sound that stands out from the rest of the tracks. While the track is not the worst track on the record, because it is both the titular track and the last song, a more electrifying ending was expected.  If this track was the first one listened to off the EP, it is doubtful that viewers would be interested in hearing the other songs. 

Beabadoobee’s “Space Cadet” is a decent record to throw on while getting ready, but is not something everyone would put on their everyday playlist. The vocals of “Space Cadet” are its saving grace, and they do a good job of pulling listeners back in between the heavy guitar interludes.

At a bare minimum, Geoff Collins’ tenure as head coach will not begin without an ACC win.

It was a sloppy game against Miami, with both teams making crucial mistakes every step of the way. But in the end, it was Tech who came up big against the Hurricanes, walking away with an overtime road victory in Hard Rock Stadium. How big is that? In Paul Johnson’s 11-year tenure with the Jackets, not once did he beat Miami on the road.

In all fairness to Johnson, the Miami of today is a much different program than the perennial powerhouse he faced annually. But that Geoff Collins has, at last, begun exorcising some of the demons that haunted Tech for the past decade, is a positive sign for the program.

Indeed, there were positive signs all around for the team on Saturday — something you couldn’t have said about any prior game this season. Tech’s defense finally made things happen, keeping Miami scoreless in half of their red-zone opportunities, blocking a game-winning field goal, and forcing a scoop-and-score. The Jackets’ special teams executed the most perfect looking fake punt you’ll ever see. QB James Graham struggled with efficiency but got the job done when he found his man, averaging 10.8 yards per completion. And Jordan Mason, who has been looking like a star-in-the-making all season long, exploded for 141 yards and the game-winning touchdown.

Tech’s loss to the Citadel was damning — it was losing a can’t-lose game. Collins has stolen back what goodwill he lost in that debacle with Saturday, winning a can’t-win game, with solid play-calling. Working with Tech’s roster has had a learning curve for Collins, figuring out how to best use a group of players generally selected for a completely different scheme. If the Miami game wasn’t Collins perfecting the formula, it was a decent approximation, and once Graham and his talented WR corps find the same page, it is not a half-bad outlook for a team that looked unstoppable on the ground against one of the best rush-defenses in the country.

So, have I booked my plane tickets to Charlotte for the ACC Championship yet? Not yet. As I’ve harped on before, it is foolhardy to expect Collins’ outfit to perform anywhere close to the standards of Johnson era in his first season, and equally foolhardy to judge Collins’ hiring by the win/loss column for now. What Collins needs to do this year is help his players take small steps — improving individually before the package of a quality football program comes together. Tech’s players did not only demonstrate just that against Miami, Collins took his own small steps in terms of his play-calling and usage, figuring out the right balance to strike. No matter Tech’s record the rest of the season, Miami was evidence of a positive trend, the kind that can pay dividends down the road in terms of program quality.

The season gets little easier for the Jackets — between UGA, N.C. State, and UVA. It will not be pretty, scoreboard wise. But that’s okay. The Jackets need to learn to walk before they can run, and with the Miami game, they finally took their first steps.

next time the sideline assistants bust out the signs or groan as the student section makes it rain. But at the end of the day, Collins is just trying to remind people that football is, at its core, a game, and games are meant to be fun. So feel free to join in!

In season 5, episode 8 of the hit HBO comedy, “Silicon Valley,” there is a rather poignant scene where Dinesh, a Pakistani-American immigrant, must locate a former co-worker by driving through a pre-Burning Man campground. 

He is subsequently astounded not only by how crowded it is, but the fact that people willingly camp for long periods of time at all, asking why “people who aren’t refugees choose to come here and live like refugees.” 

While this was intended to be a comedic bit reflective of part of the immigrant experience, I often wonder what people around the world who live in squalid conditions or in refugee camps might think of the intentional exodus of disillusioned city-folk into sometimes very challenging outdoor conditions. 

“Privilege” is a word that people like to throw around often. But the very idea of camping, backpacking, mountaineering  and other similar outdoor activities is a true privilege that would leave many incredulous. 

What might be even more surprising are the astronomical prices of some of the shiny REI outdoor equipment (like stoves, durable sleeping bags or advanced water purification systems) that people splurge on in an ever-improving technological arms race to be the most efficient and most effective at being self-sufficient outside. 

This type of outdoor consumerism contrasts sharply with the reality that many people around the world — refugees escaping war and persecution, the homeless and people who live in abject poverty — do not have the privilege of buying expensive gear to appreciate the great outdoors. Instead, they live at the mercy of the whims of nature rather than wielding nifty tools to bend it to their will.   

This is in no way trying to guilt or shame those who have a passion for being outside and for camping. I have spent many nights in a tent in my college career, and I am a fan of outdoor recreation. It teaches the strength of conviction, grit and mental and physical endurance, all of which are invaluable to the development of the individual self. It also promotes community, reflection and environmental conservation — all of which add to improved mental well-being. 

On the contrary, I am advocating for a slight shift in perspective when engaging in such outdoor activities, perhaps a heightened awareness of our place in the world and for people to be intentional in engaging responsibly with the outdoors. 

I think people who enjoy “escaping” to the outdoors could benefit from recognizing that it takes a certain level of liberty to be able to “escape” into the quiet respite of the woods or mountains in the first place. 

It is based on the premise that one can always return to the comforts of their own home, that the kind of mild pain from carrying your belongings in a backpack or reveling in the discomfort of sleeping in a tent is fun because it is transient. 

The reality for those who live in poverty is that there is no such escape from the elements, that those who live in a sleeping bag or under a battered tent must continue to do so day in and day out. With the growing proportion of homeless people in major cities on the West Coast and the Syrian refugee crisis playing out in daily news, on the surface, it seems perverse that some of us have transcended modern living to the point of desperately wanting to return to material minimalism. 

While once entranced by the idyllic descriptions of those in the transcendentalist movement, I have come to regard the existential yearnings for finding meaning in nature of Henry Thoreau and Chris McCandless to be vapid and entitled. While the outdoors should be enjoyed to its full capacity, it should not be romanticized. 

Modern living in a materialistic world can be exhausting and overwhelming, but so is actually facing nature without the modern comforts that we are privileged enough to enjoy. 

‘Escaping’ nature is a privilege

I will be the first to enthusiastically admit it: I like true crime — no, I love true crime. If someone were to browse my podcast recommendations, they may be surprised to see titles like “My Favorite Murder,” “True Crime Obsessed” and “Forensic Files.” 

For those out there who don’t know, true crime is a genre of media featuring the real-life stories of crimes occurring around the world. True crime takes the form of books, podcasts, movies, documentaries and television shows based on real-life crimes. Often, these stories are paired with comedy. The majority of the true-crime genre audience is comprised of young women, who, incidentally, are most likely to fall victim to the violent crimes covered in true crime media. What about violent crime fascinates those who are most at risk?

For some of us, it is about the science. It’s thrilling to know the details of crime scene investigation, DNA testing and the process through which fingerprints are peeled from doorknobs in order to catch criminals. 

Some audiences love the justice element, finding satisfaction in the conclusions; some like the mystery and willingly participate in what is called “armchair investigations.” Sometimes it is the relief that it is not you; some people find comfort in hearing that bad things are happening to plenty of other people and — statistically — will not happen to them. 

But for me, it is about processing my mental illness and learning to accept the world in which we live without leaving the comfort of my own home. 

I have lived with anxiety my whole life, scared to turn corners, scared to peel back the covers and get out of bed. I have feared falling victim to the violent crimes I hear about on my podcasts since I was old enough to understand that there are bad people in the world. Avoiding the topic only worsens my worry, making me check the lock on my front door two, three or four times before checking all the windows and sliding the kitchen knife into my bedside table drawer. The less I hear about crime, the more I think about it happening to me. 

So I listen to podcasts, I watch documentaries and I obsess over certain cases and victims that remind me of myself. I memorize the details of certain crimes, channeling the anxious energy into understanding how to stop it if it were to happen to me. 

True crime gives me the opportunity to channel my anxiety, and allows me to realistically prepare myself in the event that any one of the crimes I obsess over happens to me. Through my favorite media, I face my fears head on, and sometimes, instead of crying, I get to laugh. 

It may surprise fans that, with football season still in full gear and basketball season still a few weeks away, there was action on the diamond for Tech. But both the baseball and softball teams for the Jackets have been in action this fall, and the early returns are promising.

The baseball team’s fall schedule is short — just two games. The first was scheduled to go 12 innings and was played this past weekend, versus South Carolina. Much of the game, played in the Gamecocks’ Founders Park, was a pitcher’s duel: after both teams tacked on early runs, the game stood at 3-2 favoring South Carolina entering the ninth. At the top of the ninth, freshman Jadyn Jackson and sophomore Charlie Benson drove in three runs with a pair of singles. But the Gamecocks responded with five of their own at the bottom of the frame. The Jackets would add on a solo home run from senior Paxton Rigby in the tenth, but South Carolina scored two more runs to keep the game from getting any more interesting, putting the final score at 10-6 in favor of the home team.

Neither team played with a true starting pitcher; only one pitcher from each side played more than one full inning. Surrendering most of the damage for the Jackets were Luke Bartnicki and Jackson Finley, who combined to retire just seven batters while allowing eight runs. Given that Bartnicki is a sophomore and Finley a freshman, however, these developments should not be concerning.

Some of Tech’s pitchers did put together excellent performances. Andy Archer and Josiah Siegel put together perfect innings, while Jonathan Hughes, Dalton Smith and Jackson Arnold allowed a single base runner each and pitched scoreless frames. Perhaps the most exciting stat-line belongs to freshman Zach Maxwell. The young arm struck out four batters but also walked four over 1.1 innings, still allowing no runs.

The Jackets struggled a bit at the plate, managing only 9 hits over 45 at bats, but there were a few standouts there as well. Freshman first baseman Drew Compton managed a pair of hits in four plate appearances, driving in a run. Designated hitter Andrew Jenkins recorded two hits in five at-bats and drove in another run. 

The softball team has concluded their fall slate already in six games, capping each one with a win. These games have given the Jackets a chance to play some programs Tech rarely faces; for example, the fall season began with a pair of games versus Chipola College, a small university in north Florida. Only once in these seven games have opponents held the Jackets to under 10 runs; although it is worth noting that most of these games lasted longer than the standard seven innings. While Tech played relatively few major opponents, the Jackets did host Auburn, a postseason contender, for a mid-week game that they won 3-2 after seven innings. 

There is still a while before baseball and softball season begin in earnest; Tech fans looking for a definitive answer on how Tech will replace the production of Tristin English and where the softball team will see improvement under third-year head coach Aileen Morales will have to wait until the spring. But the appetizer has been served, and it is a tantalizing one indeed.

But if you need one last peek before their winter hibernation, Tech baseball takes on Samford in their final fall game in Atlanta this Saturday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m.

What does it mean to be Southern? I first found myself grappling with this question in the summer of 2017 when I took a class during a summer program called “Growing up in the New South.” 

For the first 13 years of my life, I lived in Athens, Georgia, which is a blue speck in a sea of red. I attended a Montessori school where the main lessons in the curriculum focused on teaching students the proper way to recycle and how to “nature walk” so as to not disturb the animals around us while we walked in the woods. 

The most country I ever experienced growing up in Clarke County was during Sunday afternoons at Cracker Barrel, where my mother indulged in their (back then, their only) Sunday chicken dish and watched “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.”

In eighth grade I moved to Barrow county. The city of Winder was definitely more Southern than Athens, and it was clear I was different than my peers. I didn’t go to church regularly, I didn’t listen to country music and I had never heard of deer jerky, which seemed like a common delicacy in the lunchboxes of my classmates. 

For a long time, I felt like I was seen as an outcast due to my failure at assimilating into their way of life. Because of this, I grew to resent the Southern culture that seemingly couldn’t accept my tie dyed shirts and socially liberal views. Thus, at the beginning of the New South class when I was asked if I considered myself to be Southern, I vehemently denied any connection between myself and the redneck stereotype I felt was representative of the South. 

Throughout the course, we studied many facets of Southern culture including food, music, dialect and the controversial Confederate flag, which was displayed on our own state’s flag until 2001. 

When it came to the food, I reveled in descriptions of meals consisting of biscuits, fried meats, gravy, banana pudding and sweet tea. 

Although I didn’t identify with the country music, the beats of the Dirty South hip hop movement led by Outkast, Bubbasparxxx and other Atlanta based artists reminded me of rides in my older brother’s Acura with the windows rolled down. 

As for dialect, there was no denying that “y’all’s” frequently plague my slight southern drawl. 

When considering the “heritage” of the South, I always felt that a lack of pride for Southern history disqualified me from being considered a true Southerner. 

I didn’t want to belong to a history that denied the Civil War was fought over slavery. 

I didn’t want to share an identity with the same people that flew the stars and bars next to the stars and stripes. 

But, I found myself feeling hypocritical when we read articles on the history of Stone Mountain, a place my family has been known to visit on the Fourth of July, as the site of the KKK’s revival. I felt like I had been caught in a web of accidental confederate celebration.

When the course came to an end, I was faced with the same question: did I consider myself to be Southern? As someone who had gone in denying that there was any “southerness” about me but found comfort in essential elements of Southern culture, I was conflicted. 

Even though my generation is growing up in the New South, which allegedly ditches the ideas of the Confederacy, there are still influences associated with the Old South that are passed down through familial lines. 

I have ultimately decided that the Southern identity means different things for different people. For some, it’s a pride in a flag that represents a defeated state and outdated social systems. For others like myself, being Southern looks like big backyards and family reunions. It tastes like boiled peanuts on road trips and chicken biscuits for breakfast. It sounds like the cicadas screeching on summer nights and the occasional roar of the bullfrog that gets stuck in the pool skimmer. 

To me, being Southern is, most importantly, about believing in a better South (a phrase courtesy of the “The Bitter Southerner”) and working towards more statehoods committed to confronting their past and discontinuing their harmful legacies. 

This South would have a new focus on the hospitality, complex diversity and beauty of the Southern people and the vast lands they inhabit.

On Thursday, Oct. 17, SGA’s Cultural and Diversity Affairs Committee (CDAC) hosted a public kick off in the Student Alumni House for the Menstrual Product Program (MPP). The program’s goal is to provide free menstrual hygiene products in restrooms around campus. 

“The program was really inspired by the stories students had about how access to these different sorts of things can really improve your college experience. So many students had stories about how a
lack of access to menstrual products really impacted them and the stigma surrounding it in terms of how difficult it is to ask someone else, if you don’t have any yourself and you’re in a situation where you can’t get to menstrual products when you really need them,” said Kyle Smith, CDAC Co-Chair and 2nd-year PUBP. 

During the 2019 spring semester, SGA, CDAC and the Center for the Study of Women, Science, and Technology (WST) acquired their $30,000 budget through SAA’s Gift to Tech, which is voted on by the student body and funded by membership dues in Tech’s
Alumni Association. 

The launch phase of the project has officially been initiated, and members of CDAC have begun to place the dispensers containing tampons and pads in various restrooms spread around campus. The eleven dispensers will be placed in one women’s and one gender-inclusive restroom in Clough, Mason, Smithgall, West Village and Klaus, with the exception of Scheller where there is not a single-stall gender-inclusive restroom. 

Placing the dispensers in gender-inclusive restrooms in addition to the female restrooms makes the menstrual products available in neutral locations for
all students who are in need, regardless of gender identity. 

“The reason and the rationale behind the buildings selected is because there was a need for geographic diversity. That way, hopefully, is someone is on one side of campus, they will have the same access as someone that’s on the other side of campus. We want something that’s easily accessible to all students regardless of gender because there are students that do not identify with the binary gender choices and we have to make sure that every student feels empowered to be able to have access to those products without the stigma surrounding them,
which is why the gender inclusive restrooms are so important,”
said Smith. 

The program has partnered with Aunt Flow, a company known for their organic menstrual products and distributions to schools and businesses around the U.S. Aunt Flow is also the manufacturer of the dispensing machines that will be installed in the bathrooms. 

“The whole idea behind selecting Aunt Flow was that Aunt Flow is a company that really cares about sustainability. They have created products that are biodegradable and from the user’s perspective they have been called comfortable and so those are the things that were important to the co-chairs last year in terms of deciding which company to go with to provide the products,”
said Smith.

The committee plans to use electronic feedback forms conducted through Qualtrics to gather data throughout the rest of the semester. They also plan to use this data to work with facilities’ management and to better estimate how often products need to be restocked or bought to keep up with campus demand. The program began with 500 pads and 500 tampons and has already used $3,210 from their $30,000 budget.

After its initial phase is over, the committee hopes to use the data gathered to expand the project past the eleven initial dispensers. “This is really important to us because ultimately we believe the distribution of the menstrual products should be something that is eventually going to be in all buildings across campus,” said Genny Kennedy, Vice President of Student Life and 4th-year INTA.

A crowd of senior faculty gathered in the conference room on the bottom floor of CODA’s data center. The Tech Square building is white from floor to ceiling with multiple levels of security protecting the innovation within. CSE professor, interim-chair and the Institute for Data Engineering and Science (IDEaS) Director Srinivas Aluru stood at the front of the room with Paul Manno (Senior HPC Architect at PACE), Charles Isbell (Dean of the CoC), Neil Bright (Associate Director for Research Cyberinfrastructure at PACE), Chaouki Abdallah (Executive Vice President for Research at Tech) and Raheem Beyah (Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research) posing for a picture before the grand reveal. 

Manno and Bright, staff at the Partnership for an Advanced Computing Environment (PACE), stepped away to allow Abdallah, Isbell, Aluru and Beyah to cut through the golden ribbon before them. As the ribbon fell, the room erupted in applause, and the dark panels behind the men lifted to reveal a window into the room where the Hive, Tech’s newest and greatest supercomputer, is located. “This is really an exciting day for us who have been working on the Hive supercomputer project,” said Aluru. “This is a demonstration of what we can do as a team at Georgia Tech.”

The Hive is a high-performance computer (HPC) specifically designed for data science research at Tech. The computer’s design was crafted by Tech faculty and staff from (IDEaS) and PACE. The $5 million computer was funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that footed 70% of the bill through the Major Research and Instrumentation Program grant; the remaining 30% was comprised of smaller grants from internal Tech offices. 

The Hive computer is a heterogeneous system with over 11,500 codes and 100 trillion bytes of main memory making it “the most powerful supercomputer on campus,” said Aluru. Outside of the powerful computing software, the hardware is equally as impressive. Hive has specialty doors attached to the outside of the computer, complete with six fans each and circulation of cool water in pipes attached to the doors. Additionally, Manno mentioned that the computer contains over 2 kilometers of copper cables and 5 kilometers of fiber cables, making the system extremely large and complex. 

“The university is trying to come up with a long term plan for high-performance computing, and this is a manifestation of our performance so far,” said Abdallah about the project that is a culmination of two years’ work and a cornerstone of “interdisciplinary collaboration.” The Hive, a product of interdisciplinary efforts, will aid in the completion of interdisciplinary study and be used by over 200 grad students, and more than 30 post-docs and data scientists here at Tech. 

The Institute plans to move all computing services to CODA’s data center by the end of the school year, including OIT, to work alongside Hive as IDEaS’ data research goals are continually achieved. 

Julia Bergmann stands out. That starts with her height. At six-foot-five, she is the tallest player on Tech’s volleyball team by two inches. She is pursuing an uncommon major: physics. And in her first semester at Tech, as she balances college academics, social changes and life in a new country, she has been one of the team’s best contributors. Bergman has been the forefront of a resurgent Tech volleyball team, and was just named ACC co-Freshman of the Week after big games against Clemson and Virginia Tech earlier this week.

Competing in any sport at the NCAA level is no easy task, but if anyone is well-suited for the task, it is Bergmann. The sport runs in her blood. Both of her parents were volleyball players, and while neither competed professionally, she was introduced to the pursuit at a young age. “They always took me … to their tournaments, and I started playing in fifth grade. That’s when I really started to practice volleyball,” she said.

It was at this time when Bergmann was adjusting to her first major move: as a ten-year-old, she moved with her family from Germany to Brazil. While she knew no Portrugese, she was already fluent in another language of Brazil — volleyball. In just two years after she started practicing, she was playing in tournaments representing her city at a high level.

Soon after, Bergmann was selected to represent Brazil in competition. This, she says, is when she began to realize exactly how special her talent might be. “I was screaming around the house and jumping, I was so happy,” she remembers. “It was that I went to [the national team’s practice facility in Rio de Janeiro] … I couldn’t imagine that now I was playing for the national team.”

The success led Bergmann to change her routines. “I was a swimmer, so I used to swim and play volleyball. After I started playing national-level volleyball, I stopped swimming and just focused on my volleyball career,” she notes. The swimming has helped her to this day, though; she credits it with her excellent hand-eye coordination despite her height. A lack of coordination is the one pitfall for tall players, so Bergmann’s skills in this department distinguish her as an athlete.

Bergmann hesitates to pick a favorite moment from her youth career, but settles on a moment from her international history. “I had so many good matches,” she says. “But probably the year before last … we played the South America championship, and the final was a pretty memorable match. We played against Argentina and won.” 

Prior to attending Tech, Bergmann had visited the United States just twice: once for a tournament at the University of Nebraska and once for her official visit to Tech. Adapting to the U.S., she says, has involved not only culture but also style of volleyball. The rules in the United States are slightly different, allowing more players to serve, and the ball can hit the ceiling without play stopping. The American game is also faster and more focused on defense.

But making the transition easier is the fact that Bergmann’s head coach and one of her teammates — Michelle Collier and Mariana Brambilla, respectively — are both Brazilian natives. “Oh, for sure,” she says when asked if it was useful to have teammates and coaches with Brazillian ties. “Especially Mariana. At the beginning, she was helping me so much.” 

Bergmann has goals, not only for herself and her team but for the future state of her spot in her home country. “A lot of [states] don’t have enough investment, so it’s really hard for kids to travel to play in other places. Or they don’t even have money to buy shoes to play volleyball. So I think the bigger clubs — like professional ones — could give smaller volleyball projects more money or even visibility so that they can get more help.” As for her team’s progress, Bergmann is looking for an end on a high note. “We are practicing a lot and playing well, and if we keep this level up, then we have a good chance to win this conference.” With Bergmann on the court, Tech is giving that shot — the Jackets were 3-3 in conference play entering Friday.